The end of a glittering career spanning almost 25 years is upon India's
cricket fans but the chant of 'Sachin! Sachin' will echo through stadiums
across the country for a long time to come

Sachin Tendulkar was only five years old when Douglas Adams produced The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for the BBC. In the first part of that series, a supercomputer, named Deep Thought, takes 7½ million years, to compute the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. The answer? 42.

The Indian cricket fan’s relationship to the game has been a bit like that since 1989, when Tendulkar made his debut. It was never entirely clear what the question was, but the answer was always Sachin.

The end of a career so long that it almost eclipses your average human’s infatuation with sport, is upon India’s fans, but even with a month’s notice it has not been easy information to process. For the blind devotee, the transition has been an obvious one.

Sudhir Kumar Gautam, notionally an India fan, but nourished and sustained, literally and figuratively, by Tendulkar, will make the most simple of alterations. From the Tendulkar 10 inscription that is part of the elaborate body paint that Sudhir shows off at every match, the words will change to Miss U Tendulkar.

For the critic, the departure of Tendulkar has been a confusing time. Even the minority that called recently for his retirement have been becalmed, and they admit that a 25-year-old legacy cannot be tarnished by a relatively lean trot leading into the very end.

The cottage industry that mushroomed around Tendulkar has perhaps been the most prepared, with last-minute deals wringing out whatever life remains in brand Tendulkar.

From special supplements in newspapers to advertising hoardings across Mumbai to day-long televised conclaves and tributes from just about anyone who crossed Tendulkar’s path, and some who never did, the mania has thrummed to its climax.

Perhaps the most relaxed man of all has been Tendulkar himself. In his final Ranji Trophy match, against Haryana in the farming village of Lahli, Tendulkar tamed a spicy seam-friendly pitch to make an unbeaten 79 that took Mumbai to victory. In the first Test against West Indies, at Eden Gardens, Tendulkar sought refuge from the off-field drama by enjoying every moment of the game, although perhaps not the manner in which he was given out lbw.

The Indian cricket team, for their part, are as prepared for life after Tendulkar as they will ever be. The batting is in top shape, with younger players stepping up so comprehensively that even in Tendulkar’s absence Virender Sehwag struggles to come into contention.

For Tendulkar, the question of what next has not been addressed. Presumably he will spend a bit more time at the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament to which he was nominated in April 2012. Quite possibly, some of his time and attention will be spent honing the skills of Arjun, his 14-year-old son who is trying to live up to a weighty surname in age-group cricket in Mumbai.

For the average Indian fan, though, the time has not yet come to retire the ‘Sachin! Sachin!’ chant that has been the soundtrack to India’s No 4 batsman making the walk from dressing-room to the middle.

That refrain will echo through stadiums across the country for some time to come yet.